ZEN MOON
Tian Xutong's paintings embrace some apparent clarity and clearness. In Zen Buddhism, "epiphany" refers to the electro-optical flint-like perceptual intuition when sudden understanding covers people’s perception but steps beyond specific object, and internal life and external world conflict. Tian Xutong's Zen ink painting contains only a few of strokes, light and thorough, but the small painting contains a big world with mustard suddenly integrated, which jointly form a piece of clear religious chanting that calls for repeated singings. It is obvious that he paints with the state of insight and enlightenment, his thoughts circulate and reach the spirit beyond the objective world, and then a bright straight open shortcut suddenly appears with logic accumulation, so the wonderful strokes rush in a minute.
Tian Xutong has been focused on Zen, and gotten interested in religion, so he can find traces of Zen between the lines of poem or in the paintings. He has even temper, open heart and mind; he embraces much freedom and easy beyond the world, without pursuit for many worldly things; while he also take the world with rich sincerity, diligently strive for good teaching and family relationships. Tian Xutong has taught in Tsinghua University for many years since his graduation from Central Academy of Craft Art (now Academy of Art & Design , Tsinghua University), and he has invested much attention into research on tradition from traditional visual expression style to the modern style of Chinese art. His rich knowledge broadens his dimension, his works often swims in the critical line between figurative and abstract, and he has changed the traditional cognitive style of Chinese ink and wash painting, with his extremely-purified painting language. He is addicted to embracing the nature, absorbing nutrients to enrich his soul, interacting with the image obscurations and poetic jump, and creating new style from unique perspective. In recent years, Tian Xutong has created lots of works with the help of profound Zen, integrated his thoughts into his strokes, thus his strokes raise some extraordinary air; the easy and color bear real fun upon their birth, the author’s understanding in the world and the rules are melted in the strokes and form unlimited joy.
The key to enlightenment is to touch or live "the objects" by external mapping; but "instant sudden enlightenment of real inner feeling" means self liberation. For Tian Xutong, te objects for his enlightenment is natural objects in his view, while the chance comes from his methods accumulated over the years for observation of the world then to intuitively express his emotions, therefore, the natural ancient world and the beam fairly monk are not the results of rational choice, but a combination of self nature and the image. The lustrous and dazzling world fades away in his works, due to the simplicity concluded from deep understanding of the natural life, so, the pattern of his paintings looks free and easy casual an simple, but with concise and comprehensive connotation, so that they attract your attention again and again. Of course, as an artist with broad range of knowledge and profound accumulation, he has quite impressive painting skills, which is also another reason to attract you. The fusion of Tian Xutong’s subjective "enlightenment" and natural "objects" is like the wind running through mirror, with concise objects and thick ink without losing cool sense but no dust on picture; so his rendering and stipple is featured in fun and his easy reasonable strokes. The quite strong strokes are simple, but vividly express the rich emotions and relaxation, casual and free, natural and unrestrained, integrated with Wei and Jin Dynasty style, and similar to the Zen paintings with simple lines but rich meanings created in Song Dynasty.
Wu Hong once said: what the ancient artists follow in the creation of Buddhist art is not simple "visual" concept. In Dunhuang’s merit records, what the creators emphasize is "production" instead of "watching", because only by producing can they accumulate merits. Tian Xutong's "Zen Moon", a Zen-style ink painting contains roughly similar meaning. If we appreciate his poetry and painting in comparative perspective, we can recognize his "creation" or "production" of Zen-style works.
The Mid Autumn Festival has just passed, the leaves of crescent standing on the bank of pool gradually become yellow, and hundreds of piled stones are reflected in the water, then everything is blurred with the shaking of wind and shadow,. Glittering water mirror is accompanied by the cool silent moon. The above few words form the preface.